Puppy Adventures!
by Brythespy
Summary: A cute, lost tale of Balto and Jenna's pups before they were adopted. The curiosity of a certain one of them ends up unintentionally leading the pups away from Balto and Jenna's sight. Sticking together, the six puppies go on spectacular adventures in the forests outside of Nome. Against all odds, Balto and Jenna get the happiest news in their lives as the same pup leads them home.
1. Chapter 1

Puppy Adventures

Saba, Dingo, Kiona, Kodiak, Dakota, Aleu, Balto and Jenna.

**Just a cute story I thought up on the drive home.**

MU= Takes place two days before Balto 2: Wolf Quest.

**Dakota and Kiona are the official, unofficial (which means Universal did not give those names, but the production staff DID in fact name them) names given to the unnamed pups brought to attention by "catwhohas14tails".**

* * *

What a day today was, the sun crested above the endless sea beyond, the clouds were plentiful and offered minor relief from the spring heat. The snows of the winter had all but thawed out except for anywhere that was in the shade, and many times, this would be a great place to play.

Moreover, closer to home, in the basement of the Jones' home at the farthest end of Main Street, Balto and Jenna lie sleeping, their six beautiful bundles of fur tightly packed in-between their embrace. It wasn't cold in the house, it was the simple fact that the pups wanted nothing else in the world than to be right here in-between their mama and papa. Mama and Papa also wanted nothing in the world more than lying here doing the same thing.

Balto was the only one awake, but he would not dare move. Not because he wanted to avoid having to face the little guys, he loved everything from their occasional annoying tendency to bother him while he was tired, to the laughter they shared when they played their mind games with each other.

He laid there smiling, eyes closed, lost in his thoughts. Lost in memories of him and Jenna the first night they kissed, locking in the love the two shared, to the day that love turned into 6 more little ones to share with. Comfortable in Jenna's, now upgraded and larger, ultra-soft doggy bed, Balto felt his heart drop. Nothing really happened, but a thought crossed his mind. His family was, without a doubt, the most important thing in his life. What if something were to happen to any of them?

"_Come on Balto, you need to stop thinking that way…_" He mentally reasoned with himself

"_But, then again, you've got to understand that bad things are eventually going to happen. It's better to mentally prepare for them now_." His logical side spoke.

Balto continued his mind struggle for the better part of an hour, still too comfortable to even move a muscle as the 7 breathing bodies rested comfortably on his side, yet he was feeling restless now.

"_I can't sleep 12 hours then lay here even longer. I have way too much energy_" he thought.

Balto slowly opened an eye, and just a quick look at the room told him that the sun was up and shining into the room. He moved turned his head to the left and smiled when he looked at Jenna.

Her tiny nose was twitching every so often; Balto could only theorize that she subconsciously did that while she was lost in her dreams, to detect, and make sure that her pups were still around her, safe and sound.

"_What an amazing mother she is…_" Balto thought.

He moved his gaze now, to the puppies. All six were there, they've nearly doubled in size since they were born, and they were starting to overflow the bed. No matter for Aleu though, she often laid just under the side of the bed, on the hardwood floor, yet she was comfortable. No matter how many times she was asked to come sleep in a soft bed, she refused, saying that she liked it on the floor.

Balto had to extend his neck higher to catch sight of Aleu, and sure enough, she was there. Her tiny gray body pulsating with every breath.

He shook his head with a smile, but this action alone caused one of the pups to stretch, and thus, the chain reaction could not be stopped.

Balto seen this every morning, and he smiled as it went off nearly identical to yesterday.

Dingo would stretch, lightly kicking Dakota in the face, who would wake and shake her tiny head, who would disturb Kodiak, who would move Kiona, who would force her way out from under Saba. Within seconds, everyone was awake, everyone… Balto thought, except for Aleu.

He crawled slowly to Aleu, and pushed her with his muzzle gently.

"Aleu? Time for breakfast"

"Yeah Aleu get up! Get up!" Kodi budded in from under his father's legs.

Aleu didn't move.

Balto got closer and sniffed at her, making sure she was alright.

A tiny growl emitted from the sleeping pup, and like lightning she snapped up and locked onto Balto's nose with her small fangs.

Balto involuntarily yelped, not because it hurt, but because of how sudden it was.

A few of the pups laughed, Jenna included, as Aleu let go and stood high and proud.

"Haha I got you papa!"

"Okay, okay, you got me. Whoa… She really got me" Balto said as he shook his head.

Aleu was always a little bit crazier than her siblings, but at this age it was nothing more than cute laughter and fun. Balto was, admittedly frightened by the pups reaction.

"Aleu scared the fearless Balto?" Jenna said softly.

"It means that she takes after me. I couldn't be prouder that she scared me." He said with a smile as he watched her wrestling with Kodi.

"Yeah, well. How about we take them out to the forest today?"

"Are you crazy? They're only a month old!"

"Then when do you think they'll be ready… Soon they will have adoptive families of their own and…"

"Already? But… They're so young… I had hoped to spend more time with them…" Balto said sadly.

"Well? Then at the very least, you should try to enjoy the time you have with them."

"And I told you, they'll be within the same town. You'll likely see them every day!" She added.

Balto looked at his children with a smile; he was also thinking about Jenna's suggestion and figured she knew best.

"Alright then. Forest sounds great."

"Kids, you want to go play in the forest today?" Jenna asked.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Kodi said

"The forest? That's scary!" Saba said.

"Don't worry. Your big strong father will be there to protect you." Jenna said with a smile towards Balto.

"Strong? Aleu scared him!" Kodi said.

"Fine, then Aleu can protect us." Balto joked.

As he watched the pups run and jump around in happiness, a lot of things went through his mind.

_"Eastern pack of wolves should be safely out a few miles… No bears have been spotted recently… I'll ask Boris to fly over us in case… The sky seems to be clear, so no blizzards to worry about… Human hunters know not to shoot me nor Jenna… The Moose tribe has since migrated for the winter…"_

Every possible method of attack seemed out of the possibility to Balto. With a smile, he nodded to Jenna.

"Seems safe enough. Everything checks out."

"The wolves?"  
"Yes"  
"Bears?"  
"Yes"  
"Meese?"  
"Yes"  
"Weather?"  
"Good"  
"hunters?"

"It'll be fine Jenna." Balto assured.

"Let's go let's go!" Kodi repeated.

He was first to the door as his siblings soon followed.

Jenna and Balto smiled to each-other before walking to the door, and pushing the flap open.

The pups did not hesitate to spill out of the dog door into the cold snow right outside the door.

"Today is the best day ever!" Saba said as she jumped through last.

Balto and Jenna were about to follow when they heard a voice.

"Ho, ho! Puppies spilling out of this door here!"

Balto knew the voice, and after letting Jenna pass first, he followed, and confirmed that it was indeed Doc, the St. Bernard, who was already being attacked by the puppies.

"Alright guys, no need to jump Doc now." Balto said.

All of the pups except for one filed in line next to Balto as he said this. The one pup that left behind was none other than Aleu. She continued nipping at Doc's fore-arm

"Aleu, leave the nice man alone" Jenna said.

Doc shot a playful look at Jenna. He growled at Aleu to scare her, knowing any pup would be frightened from it, yet, to his surprise, Aleu growled back and continued to play.

"Tough one she is" He said.

"Yep… That's my girl." Jenna said.

"So where's the family off too today anyway?" Doc questioned.

"Oh, we're taking the pups to the forest for the first time. Should be a fun adventure for them."

"The forest? You be careful now Balto… I don't think I can handle any bad news-"

"Nothing will happen" Balto cut him off, admittedly a bit rudely.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying… Be vigilant. No matter how hard you keep track, 6 little balls of energy can, and will slip your sights now and then." Doc wisely added. He's fathered pups in his long years, and had experience with raising them. This Jenna knew.

"Thanks for the tip." Balto said.

"Well, I won't hold you; I've got to be somewhere important too. Well, not that hosting the quarterly town meeting is _nearly_ as important as the pups first day out in the forest!" He joked, looking down at the still fighting Aleu. He gently picked her up and brought her to Balto before nodding goodbye to the two.

"See ya Doc." Balto said.

[intermission]

It was only around 10 AM, as the family reached the forest edge. Jenna felt a little better about this as soon as she realized that it wasn't dark in the forest like she thought. Admittedly, it's been a while since she's been out here, the last time being when she followed Balto last winter, and during that time her brain made it seem like memories of this forest were always dark. Like the canopy of trees were thick enough to block sunlight. This was not true. The forest was clear, and you could still see far into it with no problems. Rays of sunlight could be seen breaking through the leaves and with the snow on the ground, only in the shadiest parts of the forest, Jenna thought it was beautiful.

"Wow... I love it out here" Jenna said

"Me too!" Kodi budded in.

"Hey, I do too!" Saba added.

"I love it the most…' Dakota protested.

"None of you love it as much as I do. I was raised in the forest. This is my home." Balto said to them, earning mysterious looks from their tiny faces.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. I grew up on a boat rasied by a goose."

At this point the pups found it difficult to choose which story to believe, but within seconds, it was gone from their ever-changing short-attention spans. They continued jumping around their parents, waiting for them to progress.

"Here we go…" Jenna said.

[intermission]

"Are we there yet?" Kodi whined.

"My paws are tired" Saba added.

"Mine hurt the most" Dakota finished, always seeming to choose the same response.

"Haha, we haven't even walked a mile yet." Balto said.

"Well, in their defense, they do kinda have to take 10 steps to match just one of ours." Jenna said with a smile.

"Huh, didn't think of that." Balto said.

"Okay, I guess this is far enough."

Before he even finished his sentence, the pups were off, taking an incredible amount of brain power and energy from the both of them.

"Man, Doc wasn't kidding…" Balto thought.

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**With all the darkness on this site, I chose to keep this story with an upbeat, happy mood. Chapters 2 coming soon. ****2000 WORDS?**


	2. Chapter 2

As you look down through the fir trees above, you would see 6 tiny colored points jumping around through the snow. The amazing power of the sun barely reaches these northern parts of Alaska, and many forest trees helped to keep whatever was left of the winter snows. The puppies jumped around, acting like foxes in their element, unaware of anything in the world except for this day, this moment, this adventure. It was all that mattered.

The puppies sure had fun, but the parents watching, might display a face of worry rather than happiness.

"Saba! Get back here please." Balto said.

Before she even turned:

"Aleu, put that back!" Jenna said.

"Dakota stop smothering your brother."

"Kiona why are you sitting alone?"

"Dingo! Don't eat the yellow snow!" Jenna smiled

"Kodiak! That's too far, come back now!"

Each and every pup had their own way of making this trip hard on the young parents, on the outside, though, Balto couldn't deny the fact that he was happy for them.

"At least they're having fun." Jenna turned to Balto and said with a smile.

"Yeah, who says we can't enjoy this trip either?" Balto said.

He leaned into Jenna and shared a kiss, keeping the moment for about 4 seconds until.

"Ewww, mama and papa kissing" Aleu said and laughed a bit.

Balto turned away and Jenna blushed a bit.

"Guess we're still not used to having an audience huh…" Jenna said.

"Yeah, let alone a little critic." Balto said to Aleu.

"Well Aleu, when you find someone you love as much as I love your father, you're going to share a lot of kisses too." Jenna explained, and touched noses with the young pup.

"Psst, don't tell her that." Balto whispered.

Jenna mocked him and pushed him with her paw.

The short moment of playful talking ended quickly as only 4 pups were accounted for.

"Great… Dingo and Kiona ran off again. That pair… Always together."

"Well they are twins."

"Partners in crime, you could say." Balto added with a sigh as he walked off.

He sniffed them out quickly and found them tackling eachother behind a larger fir tree.

"Dingo, Kiona, come play over here with your brothers and sisters."

"But daad. It's better over here."

"Haha, how so?"

"There's no 'audience' here!" Kiona said, trying to mock the word "audience".

He was a bit surprised as Dingo and Kiona mocked Him and Jenna, and kissed eachother for a bit. Sure, it was cute now, but he would defiantly make a note of this to pick on them in the future about.

Balto opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Dingo. Kiona jumped up now, and ended up chasing her brother.

"I love Kiona!" Dingo said.

"That's cute, now come back to the uh… Squad." Balto said, smiling at his new word to describe the family.

"Okay okay!" Dingo said, then quickly cut corners and sprinted towards his mother.

"Hey, wait for me!" Balto said.

As the three returned to the group, Jenna once again looked worried, and was sniffing about.

"Balto, Aleu is gone now…"

"Huh… Keep an eye on the others." Balto asked.

Again, he quickly sniffed out Aleu's scent, and followed it, only to be cut off, as the trail could no longer be followed.

"What? Aleu masked her scent?" Balto said, with a face of confusion.

"Aleu?"

Balto sniffed about further, trying his hardest to detect the slightest hint to her location.

"Aleu!" He yelled once became apparent that she had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Balto used his tracking skills now, searching for any change in the foliage, looking for her tiny paw prints in the snow, mud, and dirt, looking for any low lying branches and twigs that she would have broken. Nothing.

He ran about 10 trees further, and then called out.

"Aleu! We're going home now! You don't want to be out here all alone now do you?"

His head quickly snapped to the left as he heard something, a howl.

Aleu howled for his attention, and Balto was able to quickly pinpoint her location. But before he moved, he took a quick second to admire his daughters howl. It actually carried an interpretable message. Something like "I am here". Balto was intrigued that she knew how to, considering he has never shown her how to communicate that way before.

He let out a reply howl, making sure to keep it short-ranged and quieter, so that any nearby wolves didn't catch on. He replied with "Aleu, be safe, I am coming", not sure if Aleu would even be able to read it.

He ran past about 10 more trees before another howl was heard. This one stopped him in his tracks; it was not from the tiny Aleu…

"We have your child, next time think twice before trespassing in our lands." A large wolf replied.

"No…NO!" Balto screamed, and ran full speed to the source of the howl.

Jenna.

Meanwhile, Jenna also had troubles. Dingo and Kodi ran off together, chasing something. This of course, caused Kiona and Saba to chase them. Dakota stayed behind, promising her mama that she would stay put. Jenna ran off after the other four, but they all stopped as they heard Aleu and Balto howling to eachother.

"Mama are those wolves?" Kodi said scared, as all four of the pups huddled close to Jenna.

"No, no. It's just your father and-" Jenna's ears perked up as she heard a third voice emit a howl in response.

"Kids hurry now, run fast and come back with Mama. Stay close or the wolves will get you." Jenna said slightly panicked.

In reality, she was actually scared that there was at least another wolf nearby, but she also said it to keep the pups from wandering off. She didn't like scaring the little guys, but hey, it works.

The five returned to their original spot, and quickly got around Jenna. The snow began to fall harder now, cutting through the fir trees above, and thunder could be heard in the distance. All of this alone made Jenna want to return already, but not without Balto.

Nehalem and Mason

"Where is that little miscreant…" Nehalem snarled.

"I don't know! She slipped through my legs and now she's disappeared. I can't even smell her anymore…" Mason said.

Nehalem walked around, growling quietly at Mason as he pushed snow and branches around looking for the pup. His fur was one of the rarities, a pure black coat, untainted anywhere on his body.

Mason smiled on the inside. He didn't like Nehalem's idea of killing the poor defenseless puppy, so he secretly "lost track" of her. Knowing that it really wouldn't get him into trouble, and he'd be saving a life, and a family, if he let her go. He knew all too well what it was like to lose a child…

Mason didn't share Nehalem's coloring, he was an average grey, mixed colored wolf. His ancestry followed the roots of Royalty, tracing back to the last remaining family of the so called "Great Wolves". It was a wonder why he was not the leader of the pack.

As of right now, Mason acted like he was trying to help Nehalem track the pup, but ignored any scents he picked up.

"Well then. Call Drakken and Drago and tell them to help you search. I think her father is about to show his face from riiiight about there." Nehalem guessed the exact pair of trees Balto would shoot out of.

Balto

Balto continued running, knowing he'd meet this wolf within about 500 more meters, when an explosion caused him to jump and nearly run into a tree trunk. Thunder.

"How!... Boris said the skies were clear today…" Balto said.

He knew the wolves would not harm Aleu yet, but that didn't cause him to try and reach them any slower.

"_Next time think twice before trespassing in our lands"._ Something was wrong there… He knew the pack that claimed this area of forest outside of Nome as the "The Falling Leaf Pack". Not only did they know Balto, they were also friendly, and wouldn't harm anyone else unless warranted. This meant one of two things, either this wolf was from another pack, or the pack that Balto knew was getting desperate…

"_I'll have to contact the Falling Leaf Tribes' alpha to help me if these wolves turn out to be hostile_…" Balto thought.

Once he got to within a hundred meters of the sound, he got low to the earth and turned his "Stealth mode" on. Getting low to the ground, and choosing the shortest paths between the trees, he expertly navigated the windy, snow fallen ground and made it near impossible for anyone to smell him unless they were nearby. Once he got over a small ridge, he stopped dead.

He heard breathing behind him.

Growling even before he turned, he quickly snapped back at the larger wolf, ready to fight, but something in this wolf's body language told him that he had no interest in fighting.

"Shh, get down. The wolf that took your daughter is of my pack. I mean you and your child no harm, and I suggest you get out of here quickly. Your daughter is safe, after I let her escape secretly; my leader is currently looking for her in the wrong places."

"I can't thank-"

"Hey… Find your daughter. Keep her safe… I wouldn't wish on any father to have to go through what I did when I lost mine…" Mason said, as he turned and ran off past Balto.

"_Huh…" _

He took off in the same direction Mason did, ignoring his words to get as far away as possible. Within a minute, he found Nehalem.

"Where's my daughter?"

"Attitude like that and you won't see her again…" Nehalem turned to Balto.

"But why? Why are you even doing this? We have brought you no harm, and do not intend to?" Balto tried to reason with the wolf.

Before he could answer, Mason and two other wolves cleared the bushes, and looked surprised at Balto being here.

He shot a look at Balto that said: "_Damnit I told you to leave!"_

"What are you all doing here? Have you been admitted passage by The Falling Leaf Tribe?" Balto asked. If anything, he was happy to stall the wolves further than to have them continue looking for Aleu.

Nehalem began to laugh, joined by the other three wolves.

"Balto, our numbers exceed this useless pack. We're taking them over, once and for all."

"Wait… How do-"

"I know everything about you, Balto. How you're the god child of Aniu, how you're a half-breed, and how you led a sled team that saved the lives of those… abominations."

"I don't…"

"I've done my homework. I would kill you right now, but I'd find equal or greater pleasure in killing off your tainted spawn!" Nehalem said, and with a command, the four wolves ran off past Balto, shoving him to the ground.

"My spawn?... MY CHILDREN!" Balto said panicked, and instantly jumped up and ran up to the wolves. They were fast… Even having experience as a sled-dog, and one of the best at that, he was no match for full grown wolves. That with the fact that he would admit to, he has sort of "let himself get comfortable" the past few weeks.

He fought past his tiredness, nothing was important than trying to defeat these wolves before they reached his family…

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**Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment or whatever. Reading this story is already enough of an honor for me. :)**


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